State rivalries at play in flap over tag logos

Posted: Thursday, February 21, 2008

ATLANTA - Florida Gator fans living in Georgia may have a tougher time getting car tags bearing their school's logo if a pair of legislative leaders have their way.

They're miffed that fans of Georgia colleges have a nearly impossible time getting their team tags in Florida and neighboring states. The ruckus started last year when a University of Florida alumni club convinced the Georgia Department of Revenue to begin issuing tags with the Gator logo.

"A 'prestige tag' and a Florida tag are oxymorons," said Senate Majority Leader Eric Johnson, R-Savannah. "Somebody's going to have to explain that to their alumni," he said with a grin.

Johnson and House Majority Whip Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, are pushing a bill that would require reciprocity - in order for Florida fans in Georgia to have Gator tags, Georgia fans in Florida must be able to sport Bulldog tags.

"For a lot of people, it's very serious," Fleming said.

The House Motor Vehicle Committee voted Tuesday to recommend passage of House Bill 1165. It's up to the Rules Committee to decide when the legislation goes before the full House.

Georgia issues more than 100 different types of prestige tags, from those commemorating ham radio to veterans to a variety of colleges. A group needs only to convince the state commissioner of revenue that at least 1,000 of the tags would be sold.

In Florida, the process is nearly impossible, according to Tony Simon, a lobbyist who is one of the instigators of the tag war. Georgia Bulldog fans living in the Sunshine State would have to come up with $60,000 and commit to buying 1,000 tags per year to sport their own allegiances on their tags. It's just as difficult in the other states that border Georgia, he said.

Demanding reciprocity is nothing new, Fleming said.

"It's not a foreign concept," he said. "We do that in a lot of other areas," such as professional licenses and in-state tuition plans, he said.

So, is this bill what the General Assembly should be focusing on?

"It's not taking anyone's time away from any substantive issue," Simon said. "This isn't the grits-and-ice-tea bill. This matters."